A Disappointing Opponent

[Very well, I shall challenge Challenger once again! ...by staying as far away as humanly possible and minding my own business.]

Like before, Vincent didn't launch a Shield Bash + Blade Swing combo. Instead, he employed only his basic attacks on the minions, while simultaneously using them as a wall between him and his opponent.

[As long as I maintain this safe position and don't get tempted into big plays, then nothing should be able to harm moi.] Such was Vincent's conviction.

There were no signs of the enemy Jungler creeping toward Top Lane either, so Vincent should be reasonably safe in this position. On paper, Challenger couldn't pull off anything scary from this situation, right?

At least, that's what Vincent believed. However, it seemed the enemy thought otherwise...

[So, that's how you gonna play?] Ronald shook his head in disappointment. [Not even thinking about taking revenge on me or anything? Lame.]

It seemed like Blackhole was rather shaken by how things turned out last time. What a lamer. This guy was too easy.

[Though I did catch him off-guard last time, so maybe this time things will be a little more challenging.] Ronald could only pray. It'll be really sad if it turns out that InformationBlackhole was just a scrub like all the Top Laners that Ronlad faced in the previous scrims.

[I mean, c'mon. We finally get to fight a team that's strong enough to win a game against us, so you're not gonna disappoint me, right?]

Ronald confidently advanced toward the swordsmen. Unfortunately, from this side, Ronald couldn't directly attack Blackhole. There were a bunch of minions standing in his way, blocking his path.

In order to reach Blackhole, Ronald would first have to maneuver around these pesky swordsmen. At least, that held true if he wanted to hit Blackhole with basic attacks.

[Then, how about a slam!?] Ronald wanted to go for it, right here and now! But, he couldn't. His Rage meter was almost empty.

[Geh, that's the one sad thing about relying too much on Exhale to maintain HP advantage.] Ronald sighed.

The Berserker primarily accumulated Rage in order to get closer to the almighty Berserk state. However, Rage also doubled as Berserker's MP for skills. So, if Ronald wanted to exhale a lot in order to recover his HP frequently, he had to sacrifice his Rage in the process, which meant he wouldn't be able to cast his Barbarian Slam as often.

Managing these two facets of the Rage meter was the interesting part about this seemingly "barbarian" class.

[It's ironically one of the least dead-brain Top classes out there.] Ronald thought. [I mean, sometimes I do feel like just going unga bunga in Berserk state, but I really like how the class also lets me play "smart" when I feel like it.]

The added complexity of Berserker's meter management put a leash on Ronald and stopped him from getting too carried away. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but limitations like this were sometimes neccessary for him, especially when facing strong opponents whom he wanted to destroy at all costs.

Against strong bruhs like that, Ronald had a bad habit of getting carried away and finding trouble. So, part of the reason he picked Berserker in this game was to make sure he'll have something to occupy him and hold him back.

Though, maybe all of it was unnecessary in the end because Blackhole didn't seem like much of a threat so far. On the contrary, bruh was looking weaker and weaker by the moment.

[Well, it's too early to judge.] Ronald thought. [First, lemme smack these minions real quick.]

Ronald swung one axe, then the other. HACK, HACK. HACK HACK. HACKHACKHACK! The pace went up with each swing. In a matter of seconds, Ronald was unleashing a flurry at these weaklings!

But, despite how many strikes he fired off, these lightning-speed attacks weren't enough to finish off any of the minions quite yet. Part of it was because Ronald methodically split up his strikes across all three swordsmen, to make sure they were all equally injured.

Still, if any other bruiser unleashed this many attacks on the minions, then the little dudes would've been dead ten times over. But, Berserker's basic attacks weren't that strong. Instead, they were swift and connected into this lightning-fast combo that had the potential to deal tons of damage via a flurry of attacks.

[But, this Knight sure makes things a lot harder.] Ronald thought. [Dang counter-picks.]

Berserker could deal tons of damage over time but he had to unleash lots of strikes to do so. This method of clearing minions was cool and all, but it had one glaring weakness: enemy defense.

The target's defense stat mitigated the damage of every single incoming hit. So, what happened when the target was repeatedly struck? The damage mitigation applied to each strike separately, hurting the overall damage output by a ton.

As such, targets with high defense weren't very attractive for Berserker. Alas, that's exactly what Ronald had to deal with here, all because of that pesky Knight!

Knight's passive, Chivalry, gave a flat defense buff to all nearby allied minions. Because of this annoying little shit, the small dudes were more chonky than usual and that seriously slowed Ronald down. Such a dang counter-pick.

[Welp, I insisted to pick Berserker even though I knew Knight was open, so this one is on me.] Ronald shrugged and continued hacking away at the swordsmen. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to recharge his Rage meter to the required amount.

[Alright, it's showtime!] He raised both axes over his head. [Here comes Challenger!]

His lane opponent noticed the action immediately. The guy was shook!

[Nani!?] Vincent jumped. [Is he planning to unleash this attack in broad daylight!? The gall of this man...!]

This development came out of left field! There was no time to consider any options!

So, Vincent simply turned around and rolled the hell out of there! This was the fastest and safest response he could muster up in the heat of the moment.

Against a Barbarian Slam that wasn't fully charged yet, getting away with a Dodge Roll was an adequate response. The enemy wasn't even standing in Vincent's face like last time, so clearly, the range of this slam wasn't going to be anywhere near as scary as last time.

[Safe!] Vincent declared. He was like a runner who got on base before getting struck out! Though, he soon realized there was no hurry there in the first place. Even after he recovered from the roll, the enemy's axes were still raised high in the air.

[I see, I see.] Vincent nodded. [He's aiming for a fully charged slam. Indeed, in this situation, there's not a single reason not to go for it.]

A fully charged Barbarian Slam was the strongest form of the skill and it also inflicted a stun on top of that. Truly, it was the pinnacle of the Berserker's skill-based aggression!

The only price Challenger had to pay for this immense power was the amount of Rage he was obligated to consume. The longer he charged the attack, the more Rage it cost to unleash it.

Such patient skill-charging was the very opposite of what an "aggressive barbarian" like Berserker was supposed to be all about. And to convey so through game mechanics, using the Berserker's skills always ate away at his Rage, effectively sealing off his "barbarian" side. Indeed, playing Berserker was, in essence, an act of dealing with anger issues.

At present, Challenger showed he had full control over his rage. He patiently charged up the Barbarian Slam and then unleashed it all at once at the minions around him.

Fortunately, Vincent evacuated from the area in time to dodge the big attack. But, did he actually outplay his foe here? Or, was this a part of Challenger's script all along?

[So, that's how you're gonna play?] Ronald shook his head. [Lame. I was hoping you'd attack me while I'm charging the attack, that would've spiced things up.]

As strong as Barbarian Slam was, it had one glaring weakness: time. Basically, charging the skill to its maximum power took like 2 seconds. In that time, even the player with the slowest reaction speed in the world could easily smack Ronald.

To make things worse, Knight has a very handy tool in his arsenal for situations like this: Shield Bash. Yes, the enemy could've easily rammed his shield into Ronald and stunned him, interrupting the Barbarian Slam along the way.

In that sense, Ronald took a pretty big risk by charging up the slam in the enemy's face. This play would've cost him dearly against more aggressive opponents. For example, his big bro would've DESTROYED him in this situation.

But as expected, Blackhole didn't dare to attack. The guy peacefully retreated without taking any risks. Their previous bout must've shaken the guy to the core. It seemed he didn't have the confidence to face Ronald by himself.

[Well, it's disappointing but it works for me.] Ronald shrugged as he unleashed his charged attack.

BAM! A shockwave traveled across the area, hitting all enemy minions!

[If you gonna let me get away with things like this, then I'm just gonna keep abusing them.] Ronald asserted. [I mean, that's the 101 of laning tactics, right?]

This uneventful development put yet another damper on Ronald's fighting spirit. Blackhole was too easy to overwhelm and bruh didn't even dare to pick a fight when the situation was in his favor. Moment by moment, Blackhole has been establishing himself as a greater and greater scrub. Oh well.

While Ronald was sighing in disappointment, his opponent started making his way back to the battlefield. Blackhole still had one more opportunity to redeem himself here by surprising Ronald with a strong play, but will this guy dare to do anything of the sort? Most likely not.